The Cave of the Heart Meditation

The Cave of the Heart Meditation Himalayan Institute of Buffalo 1. Settle into a steady, comfortable sitting posture. Be aware of your body and align your head, neck and trunk. 2. Breathe gently, quietly and smoothly without pauses or jerks. 3. Establish a meditative state of mind by watching the breath in the nostrils. 4. From the eyebrow center, inhale your awareness to a place just above the eyebrow center – the Guru Chakra – and offer homage and gratitude to the Divine Light, the Inner Guiding Force that resides there. Rest your awareness here, and offer homage to the lineage of teachers and the tradition which guides your practice and from whom this meditation has come. 5. Now let the light at the Guru Chakra guide you towards your heart center. See the opening of the cave of the heart and follow the light through a passage into a garden. 6. In the center of the garden is a lovely pond, and in the pond blooms a beautiful 8petalled lotus. On each of the eight petals, there is a flame which is the essence of eight aspects of our existence. 7. Sit in meditation on the edge of the pond and direct your attention to each flame in turn, in a clockwise direction. with the following mantras: 1) First petal and flame: OM śarvāya namaḥ Salutations to Sharva – the divine in the form of the earth element (prithivi) 2) Second petal and flame: OM bhavāya namaḥ Salutations to Bhava – the divine in the form of the water element (apas) 3) Third petal and flame: OM rudrāya namaḥ Salutations to Rudra – the divine in the form of the fire element (agni) 4) Fourth petal and flame: OM ugrāya namaḥ Salutations to Ugra – the divine in the form of the air element (vayu) 5) Then come to the fifth petal and the flame shining on it. OM bhimāya namaḥ Salutations to Bhima – the divine in the form of the space element (akasha)

6) Then come to the sixth petal and flame. OM paśupataye namaḥ Salutations to Pashupati, lord of animals, who manifests in the form of individuality. 7) Then come to the seventh petal and the flame shining on it. OM mahadevāya namaḥ Salutations to Mahadeva, the great lord in the form of lunar energy. 8) Then come to the eighth petal and the flame shining on it. OM iśānāya namaḥ Salutations to Ishana, the divine in the form of solar energy. 9) Bring your awareness to the central flame and let all the flames merge into this flame. OM sāṅopāṅāya sāyudhāya savāhanāya saparivārāya namaḥ Salutations to all the limbs and sublimbs of the Divine Beings, to their weapons, to their vehicles, to the whole divine family, and to all living beings. May my existence composed of earth, water, fire, air, space, individual consciousness, lunar and solar energy become one with the Universal Consciousness. 8. Meditate at the heart center with your mantra as long as you wish, and then let your focus shift to the center where you usually meditate.